ZONING, DISTRICTS IN VOTERS’ HANDS

Two measures will greatly alter fate of Escondido if passed

Escondido

Escondido voters will decide the fate of two ballot measures Tuesday, one that would change zoning and another that would increase the city’s power and divide it into geographic election districts.

Both measures are strongly supported by the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and the conservative City Council majority. They’re both opposed by slow-growth proponents and Olga Diaz, the council’s lone liberal member.

Both measures need a simple majority for approval.

Proposition N is a proposed update of the city’s blueprint for growth, called a general plan. It aims to create higher-paying jobs in the city by rezoning hundreds of acres, primarily along commercial corridors.

Proposition P would make Escondido a charter city and shift power away from Sacramento and toward the city. The measure would also make Escondido the first city in North County to elect council members by district.

Supporters say Proposition P would save Escondido $16 million over the next few years by exempting the city from paying union wages on a long list of construction projects.

“The key part of Prop. P is the savings,” Councilwoman Marie Waldron said.

Another advantage of becoming a charter is taking power away from Sacramento, she said.

“This is about local control and home rule,” said Waldron, noting that every other large city in North County has adopted a charter. “The state’s regulations have become more burdensome. They’re overreaching into our budgets and land use.”

Waldron also said a voting rights lawsuit filed last winter against Escondido, which argues that the city’s at-large elections discriminate against Latino voters, makes it inevitable the city eventually will have voting districts.

But she said the charter would allow residents to help shape the districts, while a judge would probably draw them if the charter fails.

Rick Moore, an opponent of the measure and a leader of Escondido Charter Watch, said Proposition P would allow the council members to tailor the districts to their advantage.

“Allowing sitting officials to draw their own districts is a recipe for disaster,” Moore said.

He also said the $16 million in estimated savings is based on a “phony” list of projects the city can’t afford to build. In addition, Moore said the city didn’t seek enough comment from residents on the charter, and ignored the suggestions they received.

“The people didn’t request this, and none of the public input showed up in the document,” he said.

On Proposition N, supporters say it would attract higher-paying jobs and enliven downtown while still preserving the city’s character and rural ambience.

“This will make Escondido a better place to work and live,” Mayor Sam Abed said. “We need to transform our city from a bedroom community to a more prosperous community.”

But opponents say the measure would create “traffic nightmares,” allow excessive growth and force taxpayers to cover upgrades to roads, parks and the sewer system that developers should have to pay for.

“Developers will only pay a fraction of what they should,” said Dolly McQuiston, president of a slow-growth group called the Escondido Chamber of Citizens. “We’ll have more people and less services and amenities.”

Supporters of the two measures, including the Chamber of Commerce political action committee, have raised and spent far more money than the opponents.